Sevenths
D minor 7th chord
Smooth and soulful; a staple of jazz, R&B and funk.
Dm7 is the ii7 chord in C major, iii7 in B♭ major and vi7 in F major. In minor keys: i7 in D minor and iv7 in A minor.
- Notes
- DFAC
- Formula
- 1♭35♭7
- Built from
- root · minor 3rd · perfect 5th · minor 7th
How to play Dm7
About the D minor 7th chord
Dm7 is the ii7 of C major — the first chord of the most common jazz progression, Dm7–G7–Cmaj7.
Playing it
On guitar, Dm7 is one of the friendlier shapes: xx0211 needs just two fingers and lets the open strings ring. Don’t strum the low E and A strings.
On piano, Dm7 sits entirely on white keys.
On ukulele the usual Dm7 shape is 5555, with the index finger barring all four strings at the 5th fret.
Related chords
Take away the root and the other three notes form F (F A C) — so you can think of Dm7 as F with D added underneath.
Dm7 contains exactly the same notes as F6. Which name fits depends on which note is in the bass and what key you’re in.
Move a single note and Dm7 becomes a different chord: drop the C for Dm, raise F to F♯ for D7, lower C to B for Dm6 and swap F for G for D7sus4.
Where you’ll hear it
You’ll find Dm7 in common progressions such as Dm7–G7–Cmaj7 (the jazz cadence in C major).
